ideologies essay socialism Flashcards
intro
Karl Marx is often seen as a revolutionary rather than a political philosopher. This essay analyses the key features of socialism and how they have changed since Marx’s day. With reference to equality, common ownership and human nature.
equality description
Equality is one of the main pillars of socialism and is more concerned with the equality of outcome rather than the equality of opportunity. Marx believed that ‘Each according to his ability, each according to his need’. He believed that those with the most should contribute the most whilst those who need the most get the most help. Socialists would argue that equality is pointless if it doesn’t include equal access to resources and the government are crucial in ensuring everyone receives the same equality of outcome. Therefore, socialists reject liberal ideals believing in equal opportunities as it ignores the sheer inequality built into the capitalist system.
equality example
For example, private schools are opportunistic as they are open to everyone however only few can afford yearly tuition fees. In 2021 the average yearly private school cost was £15,600. This reinforces the class divide as upper/middle class families can afford private schools where classes are smaller and therefore teachers can provide one to one teaching which could increase grades, rather than larger class state schools.
equality analysis
Marx argued that under capitalism, workers are alienated and exploited, deepening the class divide as the rich get richer from profits whilst the poor get poorer physically through poor working conditions and economically due to such low wages. Through complete systematic changes from capitalism to socialism, it would create a balanced society which produces everything to fit the needs of the workforce and therefore those with more resources would be able to share their resources with those who need the most help.
common ownership description
Another key pillar of socialism is that wealth is not generated by single individuals, but instead created in groups of individuals. Common ownership ensures that the needs of many overrides the needs of the few. Some socialists such as Marxists believe that collectivism is best achieved through the abolition of private property. They believe that all property should be ‘collectivised’ through being owned by the state.
common ownership example
Socialists would argue that the likes of Richard Branson who are praised for their entrepreneurial work should not be the ones who are getting praise and instead, the workers who have helped him build his company. Private property emphasises the class divide between the rich and the poor as it creates the conditions that produce inequality. For example, long factory hours with lacking safety regulations could reinforce health inequalities where people are unable to work due to injuries.
common ownership analysis
Therefore, socialists believe that societies resources should be commonly owned, and the profits should be redistributed back to society. For example, socialists would argue against the housing schemes such as the ‘right to buy’ as they would argue public housing belongs to society and should not be sold off to individuals. Socialists also agree strongly with nationalisation of key industries such as transport and energy. For example, in 2019 Jeremy Corbyn promised to give every home and business free full fibre broadband to close the digital divide and connect rural areas to allow working from home.
human nature description
Socialists have a positive and optimistic outlook of human nature. They hold the view that humans are naturally good, co-operative beings. They see human nature as malleable instead of fixed at birth and believe that our human nature can be adjusted and is shaped around circumstances that we face throughout life.
human nature example
For example, people who are waiting on benefits payments may have to resort to stealing essential items to simply survive through the week – this is against their natural human nature and are forced to steal due to failures of the system rather than intentionally stealing. Therefore, socialists reject the conservative motion that humans are self-motivated and greedy. For example, socialists would argue that crime is not a result of self-serving human nature and instead is influenced by wider societal factors such as a lack of education, or social exclusion which makes people feel alienated from society.
human nature analysis
Socialists are in great support of rehabilitating prisoners instead of the traditional prison sentences as they acknowledge that they did not set out to break the law in the first place and instead were moulded by what is going on around them rather than being intentionally bad. Karl Marx argues that ‘man is directly a natural being’ in agreement that human nature is shaped in many similar ways to society.
